U.S. District Judge Peter Leisure of New York has set a May 12 trial date in the United States Football League`s $1.32 billion antitrust suit against the NFL.

-- All-America safety David Fulcher, who wants to turn pro and give up his last year of eligibility at Arizona State, says he has been ruled eligible for the draft.

-- A group headed by former U.S. Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis has agreed to buy a minority interest in the New England Patriots and take an option to buy full control in three years. The Patriots also said the Lewis group agreed to buy a substantial portion of the assets of Stadium Management Corp., including Sullivan Stadium and the lease at neighboring Foxboro Raceway. Spokesman Mike Loftus said the team wouldn`t disclose the price or the percentage of the team purchased by the group. If the group exercises its option to buy the team, said Fran Murray, a member of the group, Lewis would own 50 percent of the Patriots, amounting to an investment of $32 million.

-- Seattle Mariners` owner George Argyros has denied any interest in purchasing a portion of the Seattle Seahawks. The Nordstrom family, which owns 51 percent of the Seahawks, reportedly has hired a New York investment banking firm to solicit offers for the team.

-- Ray Sherman, an assistant football coach at Purdue, has been hired as an assistant at Georgia. He will coach the wide receivers.

Boxer won`t be punished

Azumah Nelson, the World Boxing Council featherweight champion who was suspected of using drugs before a title defense in February, will not be penalized. Traces of a drug were found in Nelson`s system, but the drug was the type contained in 26 kinds of medicines and used mainly to control hunger. New trial date for ex-Gophers

Dane County (Wis.) Circuit Judge George Northrup has tentatively set July 14 as the new trial date for three former Minnesota players accused of sexually assualting a Madison, Wis., woman. The judge said the bulk of evidence, reports and motions in the case had made a May 5 trial ``close to an impossibility.``

-- J.R. Reid and Steve Hood each sank two free throws in the final minute to give the East All-Stars a 104-101 victory over the West in the McDonald`s All-American High School Classic in Detroit. Reid, who is headed for North Carolina, led the East with 23 points. Terry Mills, who is going to Michigan, led the West with 20. Simeon`s Neilson Anderson and Crete-Monee`s Phil Henderson each had 4 points.

-- Former National Basketball Association guard David Thompson, apparently trying to protect his remaining assets in a tax dispute, has filed for protection from creditors in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. Thompson listed 41 creditors, the largest being the Internal Revenue Service with claims of $810,461 in taxes for 1978, 1981, 1982 and 1984. Thompson, 31, was once the highest paid player in the NBA with a reported $800,000 annual salary. He is seeking to hold off creditors while he prepares a repayment plan that would be subject to court supervision and approval.

Braves back union on testing

Atlanta Braves` players are unanimous in opposing any drug plan for baseball that is not negotiated through their union, according to Bruce Benedict, the team`s player representative. Benedict, however, denied a report that the Braves had voted against commissioner Peter Ueberroth`s plan that calls for certain players to be tested four times a year for cocaine, heroin, marijuana and morphine. ``We did not take a vote,`` Benedict said. ``We discussed as a team Peter Ueberroth`s drug testing plan and also a memorandum from our union.`` Ueberroth`s plan involves only players who have testing clauses in their contracts and the 21 players the commissioner singled out in February for previous involvement with drugs. The players` union is challenging the testing clauses through a grievance procedure provided for in their collective bargaining agreement with the owners.